Sunday, 08 November 2009

• Recipe: Apple-Cranberry Pie

  
  

  
  My family makes a big deal over Thanksgiving.  Growing up, we went to my grandmother's house, and we'd watch the Macy's parade and eat turkey. But the main event was her pie. 
  
  She made everybody's favorites – lemon meringue, chocolate, blueberry cream, coconut cream, cherry, apple, and of course, several pumpkin pies. If you requested it, she'd make it from scratch. Pie was her thing, and I still miss her at Thanksgiving. 
  
  While I don't make as many as she did, I always make a few in her honor, and I'm going to share my favorite pie recipe, which I will be baking for Thanksgiving at my house.  It's not too difficult, even if you've never made pie before, so try it out!
  
  Ingredients:
  

  • 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (don't like cranberries?  Use mixed berries.)
  • 1-3/4 cups sugar (or Splenda--cuts the calories almost in half)
  • 1/3 cup quick-cooking tapioca
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
  • 3 cups sliced peeled baking apples (I like Golden Delicious for a sweet balance)
  • Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)

  
  Directions:
  First, if you're going to make the pastry from scratch, here's the recipe.  Don't be intimidated by pie crust; it's not really as hard as you would think.  However, you can always buy it if you want to save a little bit of time.
  
  Combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Then, with a pastry cutter, cut in 2/3 cup of shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Slowly mix in water with a fork until a dough begins to form.  Be sure not to work the dough too much with your hands, otherwise it will become tough.  Separate the dough into two balls, one for the top crust, and one for the bottom.  Set aside.
  
  On to the filling!
  
  In a large saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, tapioca, water and orange peel; let simmer for 15 minutes. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in apples. Put heat on low and stir mixture for about 3-5 minutes.  Set saucepan in a pan of cold water for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, roll out one of the balls of dough into a flat circle, less than 1/4 inch thick.  Line a pie plate with the bottom pastry. Pour filling into crust.  Roll out second dough ball and place on top of the first; you can do a full top crust or a lattice crust. If using a full top crust, cut a few slits in it.  You can tuck a few small bits of margarine or butter into small portions of the crust if desired.
  
  If you would like, beat an egg white with one tablespoon of water until foamy; brush over top pastry.  This often gives a nice browning to the crust.  Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375° for 45-60 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool completely.
  
  Optional:  If you want, you can do a crunch topping instead of a top crust.  Or, you can make a lattice crust with a crunch topping underneath, like I did. 
  
  
  
  Crunch topping:
  3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  1 tablespoon sugar
  Dash salt
  1 tablespoon butter or margarine, at room temperature
  (you can also add 1/2 c. chopped pecans)
  
   - Combine the flour, sugar and salt and nuts in a bowl. Using a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  Sprinkle over top of filling.
  
  I had some leftover dough and filling, so I made a few cute little tarts in a muffin tin.  Mmmm! 
  
  
  
  
  This pie pairs well with a nice Riesling wine if you're into that sort of thing.  Hope you enjoy!
  
  
  
  
  

  • 3:05 PM
  • 2080 Views
  • 14 eProps
  • 5 Comments